For my thirtieth birthday, I decided that I wanted to do something a little different than usual. Maybe it was the harsh reality of not being in my twenties anymore, but I decided that I wanted to head out to Amarillo and go hiking at Palo Duro Canyon. Maybe to prove to myself that I could still do whatever any eighteen year old could do. Sounds silly, I know.
There are several different hiking trails to choose from ranging from about two miles up to eleven miles. We chose what is called the Lighthouse Trail which is almost six miles round trip. It is called the Lighthouse Trail because of the famous rock formation that resembles a lighthouse. My sister and her family, which included three smaller children, had done the same trail in the past.
If you like camping, then the park does allow you to stay overnight for a fee. Now, I myself am not the sleep under the stars kind of gal, so that wasn’t going to happen for us.
After a picnic lunch, we headed out on our hike. Surrounded by beautiful rock formations and cliffs we were amazed that we hadn’t come sooner. I was a little paranoid about snakes being that we were hiking in the hot afternoon. I have been extremely afraid of snakes since I was little and the idea of coming upon one out on a trail was not on my birthday wish list.
One piece of advice that I do have is to not wear new white shoes if you do decide to do some hiking at Palo Duro Canyon. If you are familiar with red dirt at all, you know what I mean. My nice new white Reeboks were not so white once we got back to our car.
After hiking for close to three miles we reached the final few steps to the Lighthouse. Now, this part I wasn’t expecting. The last part of the journey is to climb up a hill which at some point may have been easier to climb, but erosion has made it a little treacherous. We had come this far and I wasn’t abut to not finish the trip. After all, if my sister’s family could do it, then so could we. We scramble up the hill and were rewarded with some incredible views of the Lighthouse and surrounding rocky cliffs.
After taking some pictures, we head back down the precarious hill to trek back out. Another bit of advice, which we didn’t heed, is to take plenty of water with you.
Arriving back at our car, I had a real sense of accomplishment. We had tried something new, completed a six mile hike, and had wonderful memories of the beauty of Palo Duro Canyon to take home with us.